Disk player

ABSTRACT

A disk player compatible with two types of large and small diameter disks is provided. A startup arm  20  is transversely moved by a selection arm  50  turned by abutment of a side edge of a large diameter disk  14   b.  Then, the startup arm  20  turning together with a shift bar  17  moved to be pushed at the front edge of the disk  14   b  is longitudinally moved. A cam follower pin  25  is engagingly locked with a pocket  53   c  by a spring  24,  and the startup arm  20  is constrained in cooperation with a swivel shaft  22,  whereby the shift bar  17  is restricted, and the center of the large diameter disk is positioned. The small diameter disk  14   a  restricts the shift bar  17  by the startup arm  20  by which the cam follower pin  25  is engagingly locked with the pocket  43   c  by the spring  24  irrespective of the selection arm  50.  The center of the small diameter disk is positioned at the same central position as that of the large diameter disk.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a disk player for reproducing anoptical disk signal including CD, LD, DVD, etc. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to a disk clamping mechanism automaticallycompatible to both of a large diameter disk of 12 cm in diameter and asmall diameter disk of 8 cm in diameter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] When one disk to be reproduced is manually inserted into aninsert port, automatic operation is carried out from carrying the diskto a turntable to claming the disk. After the end of reproduction, in adisk player for ejecting the disk by automatic operation, a clampingmechanism must be positioned upwardly via a gap from a disk top face soas not to interfere with the disk face. In addition, the turntable mustbe positioned lower than the disk bottom face so that a centralprotrusion engaging with the disk does not inhibit invasion of the diskbottom face. Further, in order to interrupt external vibration, some gapmust be ensured in the vertical direction of the disk face inconsideration of the fact that an apparatus is placed in a floatingstate.

[0003] In addition, in order to make compatible with two types of disksof large and small diameters, it is necessary to provide a lockmechanism for identifying both of these disks from each other, and then,maintaining the environment set to be compatible with a respective oneof the disks. This causes a mechanism to be more complicated and thenumber of parts to be increased because of the necessity of routineconstruction of an automated system using a plenty of peripheralinstruments such as optical sensors, micro-switches, or solenoids. Inaddition, a housing space and cost thereof are increased.

[0004] In Japanese Patent No. 2955116, there is disclosed a disk loadingdevice compatible with two types of disks having large and smalldiameters. In this disclosure, a rack gear 4 and a side face of a shiftplate 11 are vertically arranged on the faces of a CD 12 and a CD 13,and thus, the dimensions in this direction cannot be reduced any more.Further, a mechanism including a stopper arm 8, a lock arm 9, and astopper arm spring 8 a inhibits the dimensions in the thicknessdirection vertical to the faces of the CD 12 and the CD 13 and reductionin the number of parts.

[0005] However, for a disk player which is used for a car or which isincorporated in a computer and is functioned, a market always requireslight weight, compact design, higher reliability due to a simplifiedstructure, and a low price.

[0006] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide amechanism which is compatible with two types of disks having large andsmall diameters, which reduces the number of parts with its simplifiedconstruction to minimize the dimensions in the thickness direction, andwhich is reliably actuated to be applied to a disk player with its lowcost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In order to achieve the above described object, a disk playeraccording to the present invention comprises: a carriage mechanism forbasically feeding a selected one of the small diameter and largediameter disks to a turntable; and a clamping mechanism for compressingthe disk to the turntable.

[0008] The disk player according to the present invention comprises: aselection arm which abuts against the disk and which can be turnedaccording to its disk diameter; a shift bar which abuts against the diskand which can be moved in a disk feeding direction; a startup arm whichis engaged with the shift bar and which turns the shift bar to beinterlocked so as to be movable in the disk feeding direction; inscribedcam means in which the startup arm is coupled with a clamp arm of theclamp mechanism via a cam, thereby restricting turning, the cam meansbeing capable of engagingly locking the startup arm at a differentposition depending on the scale of the diameter of the disk to be fed;first biasing means for biasing the shift bar in a direction opposite tothe disk feeding direction; and second biasing means for biasing thestartup arm, thereby holding the arm at a different engagingly lockedposition of the inscribed cam.

[0009] In the disk player according to the present invention, with theabove described construction, the disk moving the shift bar to be pushedagainst the biasing force of the first biasing means turns the selectionarm and controls the startup arm. Then, the shift bar is restricted bythe startup arm held at any of the engagingly locked position of theinscribed cam, whereby the centers of the disks having their differentdiameters are positioned at the same position.

[0010] Here, the first biasing means and the second biasing means areconstructed to provide one tensile coil sprint in a tensile mannerbetween the startup arm and the clamp arm. In addition, in the startuparm, a swivel shaft is slidably guided to the clamp arm by a straightgroove provided at a right angle relevant to the advancement directionof the disk. In addition, a cam follower pin erected at a positionspaced from the swivel shaft of the startup arm introduces swiveling ofthe startup arm while a slide contact is maintained with either of firstand second cam portions provided at the inscribed cam corresponding to arespective one of the large and small diameters of the disk to be fed bythe biasing force of the tensile coil spring. This cam follower pin isconstrained to either of a first pocket and a second pocket provided atterminals of the first and the second cams, whereby movement of thestartup bar is inhibited in cooperation with the swivel shaft restrictedby the straight groove.

[0011] The present invention is characterized in that movement from thefirst cam portion of the cam follower pin to a second cam portion iscarried out in planar movement following a path defined by longitudinalmovement of the shift bar moving in a disk feeding direction andtransverse movement of the startup arm together with swinging movementof the selection arm in a cooperative manner, and these movements arenot carried out by a specified guide groove which is mechanicallyformed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a loading state of a smalldiameter disk in a disk player according to the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG.1;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a smalldiameter disk is set in the disk player according to the presentinvention;

[0015]FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG.4;

[0016]FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a loading state of a largediameter disk in the disk player according to the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a largediameter disk is set in the disk player according to the presentinvention; and

[0018]FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic plan view illustrating arelationship between a slide rack and a slide plate in the disk playeraccording to the present invention, wherein (a) shows a state in whichrelative movement is possible, and (b) shows a state in which integratedmovement is made.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention willbe described with reference to the accompanying drawings showing oneembodiment of a disk player according to the present invention. FIG. 1is a plan view showing a schematic internal mechanism when a disk player10 according to the present invention is set at a standby position (ahome position), wherein a housing and a chassis are illustrated in atransparent manner in order to clearly show a hidden portion. FIG. 2 isan enlarged side view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1. In the figure,a direction in which when the disk is moved to be inserted denotes aforward direction (F direction), and movement in the opposite directiondenotes a retracting direction (R direction). Reference numeral 11denotes a clamping mechanism, wherein a center portion 15 of disks 14 a,14 b (generally indicated by reference numeral 14) is aligned with thecenter of a turntable at a free end of the clamp arm 12 by the clampingaction caused by a rotatably supported clamp ring 13. At a shift bar 17moved to be pushed by the disks 14 a, 14 b, an erected piece 17 aengaged with outer periphery edges C1, C2 of the disks 14 a, 14 b isformed to be folded at a right angle at both of the left and right ends.The shift bar 17 guides a long groove 18 punched at the clamp arm 12,can slide in the vertical direction in the figure (in the movementdirection of the disk 14), is embedded in the shift bar 17, and guidedforwardly or backwardly by two guide pins 17 b fitted with the longgroove 18 to be moved in parallel.

[0020] Further, a connection pin 17 c is erected at the center of twoguide pins 17 b embedded in the shift bar 17, and slidably engaged intothe long hole 21 punched at the tip end of a startup arm 20. A swivelshaft 22 embedded in the startup arm 20 guides a straight groove 23punched on the clamp arm 12, and is slidably supported in the transversedirection in the figure (a direction vertical to the movement directionof the disk 14). The startup arm 20 can be turned around the swivelshaft 22.

[0021] In addition, in the startup arm 20, as biasing means, a tensilecoil spring 24 is provided in a tensile manner between the startup armand the clamp arm 12. This spring is biased around the swivel shaft 22in the clockwise direction in the figure. Further, at the startup arm20, a cam follower pin 25 is embedded at a position spaced from theswivel shaft 22. Then, this cam follower pin abuts against a straightportion 26 a formed in parallel to the straight groove 23 at theinternal wall front edge of an inscribed cam 26 punched at the clamp arm12; supports the biasing force of the tensile coil spring 24; andinhibits free turning movement of the startup arm 20.

[0022] A top face guide plate 28 (refer to FIG. 2) of the carriagemechanism 27 brings the top face of the disk 14 into slide contact withthe bottom face, and guides it in parallel to the face of the turntable16. A roller 29 is provided at the bottom face of the top face guideplate 28, and a rotary shaft 30 is transversely provided relevant to thetop face guide plate 28. The disk 14 is configured so as to be pinchedin cooperation with the bottom face of the opposite top face guide face28.

[0023] In addition, on the top face of the top face guide plate 28,there is provided a printed circuit board 32 including photo sensors 31a, 31 b for sensing insertion and ejection of the disk 14 and foridentifying whether the diameter of the disk is large or small in size.When the sensor senses insertion of the disk 14, a drive motor 33 isstarted up to interlock a gear train 34 coupled with the rotary shaft 30of the roller 29. Then, the roller 29 is rotated in a direction in whichthe disk 14 is fed to the turntable 16 (in the direction indicated bythe arrow F).

[0024] A slide rack 37 guided to the engagement portions 36 a, 36 bprovided at the slide plate 35 shown in detail in FIG. 7, the slide rackbeing coupled with the slide plate 35 so that relative sliding ispossible, is biased in a direction spaced from a drive pinion 39 by atensile coil spring 38 provided in a tensile manner between the rack andthe slide plate 35. The slide plate 35 is supported so as to be slid inthe forward or the backward direction (in the direction indicated by thearrow F-R) parallel to the movement direction of the disk along thebottom face of the drive board 40. The movement in the transverse andthe vertical direction (in a direction vertical to paper face) isrestricted. As illustrated, the gear face of the slide rack 37 is madevertical to the disk face, whereby only the plate thickness of the sliderack 37 is included in dimensions in the vertical direction. Thus, ahousing 51 can be thinly constructed.

[0025] Either of the first link portion 44 a and the second link portion44 b provided at the end of the startup arm 20 is opposed to an end 37 aat the rear of the slide rack 37. Either of the first link portion 44 aand the second link portion 44 b is abutted against the end 37 a of theslide rack 37 by swiveling operation of the startup arm 20. Then, theslide rack 37 is relatively moved in the frontal side (in the directionindicated by the arrow R) on the slide plate 35, and the tooth portion37 b is moved to be pushed against a position geared with the drivepinion 39.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 7(a), on the slide plate 35, a cam follower 48punched at the tip end of a laterally extended plate sprint 46 abutsagainst a bent site 47 b of a crank shaped cam groove 47 (indicated bydouble dotted chain line) punched on a drive board 40, and movement isinhibited. Thus, the slide rack 37 moved to be pushed by either of thefirst link portion 44 a or the second link portion 44 b relatively movesto the slide plate 35 against the biasing force while extending thetensile coil spring 38 provided in a tensile manner between the rack andthe slide plate 35.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 7(b), the slide rack 37 compresses the camfollower 48 to be engaged into a recess 49 of the slide plate 35 by anaction piece 45 while the tooth portion 37 b is made proximal to thedrive pinion 39. At the same time, the slide rack releases inhibition ofthe bent site 47 b, and causes the bent site to be advanced into aninductive groove 47 a of a crank shaped cam groove 47. While the sliderack 37 is driven by being geared with the drive pinion 39, the camfollower 48 holds engagement with the recess 49 by constraining of theinductive groove 47 a. In this manner, in the slide rack 37, a fixedlyprovided stopper 37 c is engagingly locked with the cam follower 48.While the tensile coil spring 38 is held in an extended state, arelative position to the slide plate 35 is fixed, and integratedmovement is made.

[0028] When the drive pinion 39 is inverted, the tooth portion 37 b ofthe slide rack 37 synchronizes with a position at which gearing with thedrive pinion 39 is released. Then, the cam follower 48 reaches a bentsite 47 b of the crank shaped cam groove 47, and constraint is released.Here, the stopper 37 c of the slide rack 37 pushes out the cam follower48 from the recess 49 in cooperation with the plate spring 46, andreleases an engagingly locked state. The slide rack 37 is forcibly movedin the upward direction in the figure (in the direction indicated by thearrow F) by the constraint force of the tensile coil spring 38. Thisslide rack returns to an initial state completely spaced from the drivepinion 39. A cam follower (not shown) engaged with a respective one of aplurality of cams 35 a, 35 b, 35 c (refer to FIG. 4) formed on the slideplate 35 is interlocked with another by reciprocating action of theslide plate 35. Then, movements of the clamp mechanism 11, the turntable16 and the top face guide plate 28, and the roller 29 lying in a linkagerelationship with this top face guide plate are controlled.

[0029] Reference numeral 50 (refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG.6) denotes a selection arm, wherein its substantial center of the lengthis turnably supported around a swivel shaft 52 embedded in a housing 51for housing a board 40, and is biased by a tensile coil spring 52 aprovided in a tensile manner between the arm and the housing 51 in thecounterclockwise direction in the figure. A first end 50 a formed bybending one end of the selection arm 50 penetrates a notch 28 a providedat the top face guide plate 28, and extends at the bottom face side ofthe top face guide plate 28. This first end engages with only an outerperiphery edge C2 of a large diameter disk 14 b to be inserted, and doesnot interfere with an outer periphery edge C1 of a small diameter disk14 a. In addition, the another second end 50 b is arranged at a positionopposed to the first linkage portion 44 a of the startup arm 20.

[0030] Now, an operation of the disk player 10 according to the presentinvention will be described here with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4.When a small diameter disk (8 cm) 14 a is inserted through an insertport 42 of the disk player which is in a standby state shown in FIG. 1and FIG. 2, the insertion is sensed by a disk detection photo sensor 31a. Then, the drive motor 33 is started up, and the roller 29 startsrotation. The small diameter disk 14 a abuts against the outer peripheryface of the roller 29 at its bottom face, and is subjected to thedriving force caused by frictional transmission. Then, the disk ishorizontally guided while it comes into slide contact with the bottomface of the top face guide plate 28. Further, the disk is fed inparallel to the table face towards the turntable 16.

[0031] In the small diameter disk 14 a fed by the roller 29, when theouter periphery front edge C1 abuts against an erected piece 17 a foldedat both ends of the shift bar 17, the shift bar 17 is moved to be pushedin the upward direction in the figure (in the direction indicated by thearrow F) along the long groove 18 by the drive force transmitted fromthe roller 29. By this operation, the connection pin 17 c erected at theshift bar 17 and engaged into the long hole 21 of the startup arm 20turns the startup arm 20 around the swivel shaft 22 while sliding inabutment against the internal wall of the long hole 21. A cam followerpin 25 embedded in the startup arm 20 moves along a first cam portion 43a of an inscribed cam 26 while it is subjected to the biasing force ofthe tensile coil spring 24.

[0032] The startup arm 20 in which the cam follower pin 25 reaches thefirst engagement position 43 b, and turning movement is inhibited,restricts the shift bar 17, and inhibits movement of the small diameterdisk 14 a. At this position, the biasing force of the tensile coilspring 24 locks the cam follower pin 25 at the retracted position of apocket 43 c, determines the position of the shift bar 17, and positionsthe small diameter disk 14 a. By chucking operation of the clampmechanism 11, the small diameter disk 14 a subjected to the centeringadjustment action caused by the conical face of a tapered boss face 16 aat the center of the turntable 16 moves to the aligned position, wherebythe outer periphery edge C1 of the small diameter disk 14 a is spacedfrom the erected piece 17 a. The small diameter disk 14 a is releasedfrom its abutment state in the foregoing pushing and the movingoperation, and stable rotation can be obtained.

[0033] At the first link portion 44 a abutted against the slide rackrear end 37 a by turning of the startup arm 20, the slide rack 37 ismoved to be pushed against the biasing force of the tensile coil spring38 up to the position at which the tooth portion 37 b is geared with thedrive pinion 39. Then, the relative position of the slide rack 37 ismoved to the slide plate 35 braked by abutment of the cam follower 48against the bent site 47 b at the inlet of the inductive groove 47 a ofthe crank shaped cam groove 47. In the slide rack 37, the action piece45 engages the cam follower 48 into the recess 49 at a position at whichdriving by the drive pinion 39 is started, and integrates the slideplate 35. Then, the slide rack moves in the frontal side (in thedirection indicated by the arrow R) while constraining the cam follower48 along the inductive groove 47 a.

[0034] The cam 35 a provided at the slide plate 35 is functioned bysliding operation of the slide plate 35. By chucking operation of theclamp mechanism 11, the small diameter disk 14 a is aligned by beingcompressed on a tapered face of a boss formed at the outer peripheryprotruded at the center of the turntable 16. The shift bar 17 isconstrained at the first engagingly locked position 43 b, and thus, theouter periphery edge C1 of the small diameter disk 14 a whose center isretracted to the aligned position by the chucking operation is spacedfrom the erected piece 17 a of the shift bar 17 which has been moved tobe pushed so far.

[0035] Further, by sliding operation of the slide plate 35, the carriagemechanism 27 ensures a gap between the roller 29 having come intocontact with the slide plate for the purpose of driving and the bottomface of the small diameter disk 14 a. At the same time, the carriagemechanism ensures a gap between the bottom face of the top face guideplate 28 having undergone slide guiding and the top face of the smalldiameter disk 14 a, and forms a reproduction state. As a result, thesmall diameter disk 14 a can rotate freely without being subjected tointerference with an external peripheral member. The photo sensor 31 ais positioned outside of the small diameter disk 14 a, and the photosensor 31 b is positioned inside of the small diameter disk 14 a. Thus,it is possible to check whether the diameter of the disk to bereproduced is large or small in size by a sense signal generated by bothof these sensors. The slide plate 35 actuates a limit switch (not shown)at a maximum stroke position, and stops rotation of the drive pinion 39.

[0036] Now, an operation for ejecting the small diameter disk 14 a whosereproduction has terminated will be described here. At the end ofreproduction, the drive pinion 39 is inverted by switching operation ofan electric circuit (not shown), and the slide rack 37 is moved in theupward direction in the figure (in the direction indicated by the arrowF). Cams 35 a, 35 b, and 35 c provided at the slide plate 35 move in theopposite direction together with the slide rack 37. Thus, the smalldiameter disk 14 a is pinched between the top face guide plate 28abutting against both of the top and the bottom faces and the roller 29.On the other hand, the clamp mechanism 11 opens upwardly, and releaseschucking of the small diameter disk 14 a. The turntable 16 is retractedfrom the bottom face of the small diameter disk 14 a to the spacedposition, and is set at an initial standby state. At this time, theroller 29 of the carriage mechanism 27 is inverted, and thus, the smalldiameter disk 14 is ejected from the insert port 42.

[0037] By movement in the upward direction in the figure (in thedirection indicated by the arrow F) of the slide rack 37, a taperedportion 37 d at the rear end of the slide rack comes into contact withthe first link portion 44 a of the startup arm 20. Further, when theslide rack 37 moves in the upward direction in the figure (in thedirection indicated by the arrow F), the startup arm 20 is moved to bepushed in the central direction (in the direction indicated by the arrowB in the figure) by slanting action of the tapered portion 37 d. The camfollower pin 25 which constrains the startup arm 20 at the firstengagingly locked position 43 b is pushed out from the pocket 43 c.Then, the startup arm 20 is turned in the clockwise direction by thebiasing force of the tensile coil spring 24 provided in a tensile mannerbetween the startup arm and the clamp arm 12, and returns to its initialstandby state.

[0038] At this time, the tooth portion 37 b is set at a position atwhich gearing with the drive pinion 39 is released. As described above,the stopper 37 c of the slide rack pushes out the cam follower 48 fromthe recess 49, and releases the engagingly locked state. Then, theintegration between the slide plate 35 and the slide rack 37 iseliminated, and by the biasing force action of the tensile coil spring38 held at the stopper 37 c, the slide rack 37 returns to its initialposition at which the tooth portion 37 b is spaced from the drive pinion39, and enters its standby state. The completion of ejecting the smalldiameter disk 14 a can be checked by the photo sensor 31 b.

[0039] Now, an operation when the large diameter disk (12 cm) 14 b isapplied to the disk player 10 according to the present invention will bedescribed here with reference to FIG. 5. When the large diameter disk 14b is inserted through the disk insert port 42 of the disk player 10which is in a standby state shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the insertion issensed by the disk detection photo sensor 31 a. Then, the drive motor 33is started up, and the roller 29 starts rotation.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, the outer periphery edge C2 of the insertedlarge diameter disk 14 b abuts against a first end 50 a of a selectionarm 50. The selection arm 50 swings in accordance with the largediameter disk 14 b fed by the roller 29. This selection arm turns in theclockwise direction in the figure around a swivel shaft 52 against thebiasing force of a tensile coil spring 52 a. By this operation, a secondend 50 b of the selection arm 50 abuts against the first link portion 44a of the startup arm 20, and moves the startup arm 20 to be pushed inthe right direction in the figure (in the direction indicated by thearrow B).

[0041] While the startup arm 20 moves in parallel in the right directionin the figure along the straight groove 23 restricting the swivel shaft22 and the cam follower pin 25 and the frontal edge straight portion 26a of the inscribed cam 26, the cam follower pin 25 is moved from aregion of the first cam portion 43 a to a region of a second cam portion53 a by movement of the shift bar 17 moved to be pushed by the outerperiphery edge C2 of the large diameter disk 14 b. The first end 50 a ismaximally displaced toward the outside at a slide top Cmax with theouter periphery edge C2 corresponding to a diameter portion orthogonalto a direction in which the large diameter disk 14 b advances. Then,this first end turns in a direction in which the first end returns toits initial position. A guide groove for moving the cam follower pin 25from the inscribed cam front edge 26 to the second cam portion 53 a isnot particularly provided. The cam follower pin 25, however, moves in afree planar motion a path in a chamber defined by longitudinal movementof the shift bar 17 and transverse movement of the startup arm 20together with swinging movement of the selection arm 50 in a cooperativemanner. Ejecting operation of the large diameter disk 14 b in thismechanism is carried out in accordance with the completely reversedorder. However, the disk can return to its initial standby positionwithout any resistance.

[0042] In this operation, the second end 50 b of the selection arm turnsin a direction spaced from the first link portion 44 a of the startuparm 20. The cam follower pin 25 abuts against the second cam portion 53a by being subjected to the biasing force of the tensile coil spring 24provided in a tensile manner between the pin and the clamp arm 12. Then,the second link portion 44 b of the startup arm 20 is opposed to the end37 a at the rear of the slide rack. In this duration, as is the casewith the small diameter disk 14 a, when the outer periphery edge C2 ofthe large diameter disk 14 b abuts against the ejected piece 17 a of theshift bar 17, the shift bar 17 is moved to pushed in the upwarddirection in the figure (in the direction indicated by the arrow F)along the long groove 18 by the drive force transmitted from the roller29.

[0043] The startup arm 20 turns around the swivel shaft 22 together withthe shift bar 17 moving in the upward direction in the figure (in thedirection indicated by the arrow F). The cam follower pin 25 moves tothe second engagingly locked position 53 b along the second cam portion53 a while the pin is subjected to the biasing force of the tensile coilspring 24. When the cam follower pin 25 reaches the second engaginglylocked position 53 b, the cam follower pin 25 is retracted into thepocket 53 c and is locked there by the biasing force of the tensile coilspring 24 acting on the startup arm 20 whose turning is inhibited.Therefore, in the shift bar 17 subjected to restriction of the startuparm 20, its position is determined, and movement of the large diameterdisk 14 b is inhibited. Then, the center of the large diameter disk 14 bis positioned at the same position as that of the small diameter disk 14a.

[0044] By chucking operation of the clamp mechanism 11, the largediameter disk 14 b subjected to action of a tapered boss face at thecenter of the turntable 16 is moved to its aligned position, whereby theouter periphery edge C2 of the large diameter disk 14 b is spaced fromthe erected piece 17 a, and is released from its abutment state in theforegoing pushing and moving operation. Thus, as is the case with thesmall diameter disk 14 a, stable rotation can be obtained with nocontact (refer to FIG. 6).

[0045] Unlike the case of the small diameter disk 14 a, by turningmovement of the startup arm 20, the second link portion 44 b is abuttedagainst the slide rack end 37 a instead of the first link portion 44 a.Then, the slide rack 37 is moved to be pushed against the biasing forceof the tensile coil spring 38 up to the position at which the toothportion 37 b is geared with the drive pinion 39. Further, an operationfor the cam follower 48 to move a relative position to the slide plate35 braked in abutment against the bent site 47 b of the cam groove iscarried out in the completely same way as the case of the small diameterdisk 14 a.

[0046] Then, an action when the cam provided at the slide plate 35 isfunctioned relevant to the large diameter disk by the movement of theslide plate 35 is completely the same as the case of the small diameterdisk 14 a. An operation for ejecting the large diameter disk 14 a iscompletely the same as the case of the small diameter disk 14 a, and iscarried out irrespective of the selection arm 50 functioned duringinsertion. Thus, a duplicate description is omitted here.

Industrial Applicability

[0047] As is evident from the foregoing description, in a disk playeraccording to the present invention, at first and second engaginglylocked positions of the respective ends of first and second camscontrolling swiveling of a startup arm relevant to large diameter andsmall diameter disks, a startup arm is constrained at a positiondetermined at two points of a swivel shaft and a cam follower pin, andthe position of a shift bar is restricted. Thus, the centers of thedisks are aligned with each other at the same position, whereby reliablepositioning can be ensured. In addition, the startup arm is restrictedby an inscribed cam fixed at a relative position to a turntable. Thus, amechanism is simplified without degrading operational reliability, andthe number of parts is reduced. Thus, the disk player can be thinlyconstructed.

[0048] Further, in this manner, a vibration isolating member isexternally provided for a car or for incorporation into a personalcomputer or the like even in a small space. Thus, the disk can be easilyhoused in a floating state. Accordingly, an operation for feeding diskshaving their different diameters can be carried out reliably with amechanical construction without using an expensive member such as anoptical sensor or a solenoid for detecting and setting the position.Thus, the manufacturing cost can be remarkably reduced.

1. A disk player including a carriage mechanism for basically feeding aselected one of the small diameter or large diameter disks to aturntable and a clamping mechanism for compressing the disk to theturntable, the disk player comprising: a selection arm which abutsagainst the disk and which can be turned according to its disk diameter;a shift bar which abuts against the disk and which can be moved in adisk feeding direction; a startup arm which is engaged with the shiftbar and which turns the shift bar to be interlocked so as to be movablein the disk feeding direction; inscribed cam means in which the startuparm is coupled with a clamp arm of the clamp mechanism via a cam,thereby restricting turning, the cam means being capable of engaginglylocking the startup arm at a different position depending on the scaleof the diameter of the disk to be fed; first biasing means for biasingthe shift bar in a direction opposite to the disk feeding direction; andsecond biasing means for biasing the startup arm, thereby holding thearm at a different engagingly locked position of the inscribed cam,characterized in that the disk moving the shift bar to be pushed againsta biasing force of the first biasing means turns the selection arm,thereby controlling the startup arm, and the shift bar is restricted bythe startup arm held at either of the engagingly locked positions of theinscribed cam, thereby positioning the centers of disks having theirdifferent diameters at the same position.
 2. A disk player as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that the first biasing means and the secondbiasing means are constructed by providing one tensile coil spring in atensile manner between the startup arm and the clamp arm.
 3. A diskplayer as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that, in thestartup arm, a swivel shaft is slidably guided to the clamp arm in astraight groove provided at a right angle relevant to an advancementdirection of the disk, and in that a cam follower pin erected at aposition spaced from a swivel shaft of the startup arm introducesswiveling of the startup arm while maintaining a slide contact witheither of first and second cam portions provided at the inscribed camcorresponding to a respective one of the large and the small diametersof the disks to be fed by a biasing force of the tensile coil spring,the cam follower pin being constrained by either of a first pocket and asecond pocket provided at terminals of the first and the second cams,whereby movement of the startup bar is inhibited in cooperation with theswivel shaft restricted in the straight groove.
 4. A disk player asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that movement from the first camportion of the cam follower pin to a second cam portion is carried outin planar movement following a path defined by longitudinal movement ofthe shift bar moving in a disk feeding direction and transverse movementof the startup arm together with swinging movement of the selection armin a cooperative manner.